Tuesday, June 12, 2012

When it comes to licensure examinations, sometimes enrolling for the test can be just as stressful as taking the test. There are a few steps you must take to correctly register and prepare for the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam (CRNE), the official nursing licensure exam in Canada, and one of the best ways to ensure you take all those steps is to gather all the information you can about the test before you enrol.

Listed below are a few important bits of information you need to know before you schedule your exam date.

As stated on the Canadian Nurses Association’s official website, “the CRNE tests 148 competencies that fall into four broad categories.” Those four categories are; Professional Practice, Nurse-Client Partnership, Health and Wellness and Changes in Health.

There are two ways in which questions may be presented; independent questions and case-based questions. Independent questions give you all the information you will need to answer the question, and case-based questions give you a set of three to five questions associated with a short health care scenario.
- There are approximately 200 multiple-choice questions on the test.

There are three times throughout the year that you may take the CRNE. Those times usually fall in the months of February, June and October. For this year (2012), the only remaining date to take the exam is October 3.

If you will be graduating from a nursing program in Canada, your program will provide you with the specific directions you will need to register for the CRNE. Follow these directions and make sure that you meet all deadlines.

If you will be graduating from a nursing program outside of Canada, visit the Canadian Nurses Association’s official website to learn more about what you need to do to enrol.

There are several tools you can use to prepare for the exam. One such tool that many nursing students find useful is the official CNA prep guide and practice test. The prep guide is titled The Canadian Nurse Examination Prep Guide, 5th Edition. Available in both English and French, this prep guide features a section with 200 practice questions, and in the back of the guide is an interactive CD-ROM with 50 additional test questions. This particular test prep guide (and other test prep guides and tools) can be found at your school’s bookstore or on any online book retailer that sells college education materials.

If you live in Quebec, you will be required to take a different nursing licensure examination. For information on that particular test, ask your nursing program’s administrator.

To make sure you do your best on the exam, decide on the best environment for your particular study preferences. Some students prefer to study independently in a quiet spot like the library or at home, and some students prefer studying in groups.
Lastly, when it gets closer to test time, try to limit the amount of practice tests you take to avoid test fatigue. For example, if your test is scheduled on a Saturday, take your last practice test the Thursday before that day.

Best of luck!
Lauren Bailey is a freelance blogger who loves writing about education, new technology, lifestyle and health. As an education writer, she works to provide helpful information, pointers, and the most recent online college news for students looking into online degrees. Lauren welcomes comments and questions via email at blauren99@gmail.com.